Coronavirus: Used face masks 'being re-packaged as new', Thai police discover

A Thai police raid on a recycling factory on Monday made the revolting discovery that used face masks were being repackaged in boxes to be sold as new.

The operation in central Thailand's Saraburi province was prompted by a tip off that the facility was exploiting the current face mask shortage in Asia because of the spread of the coronavirus, and was putting public safety at risk.

Officers found six workers sorting through the masks, ironing and refolding them to make them look fresh. They said they had received the stash from a dealer who had not revealed their origin.

Commuters wear face masks to protect themselves from new virus at the skytrain station in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo / AP

The workers themselves were reportedly being paid a pittance, at about 3p per mask. They claimed they recycled around 300-400 masks day.

The Thaiger website reported that thousands of masks were found in washing machines, and thousands more piled up and waiting to be packed.

The masks have been sent to the ministry of commerce to investigate where they came from. Somsak Kaewsena, the investigating officer, said that the factory could face charges "as its operation could jeopardise the health of people who buy the masks as well as those in the [local] community".

The Thai public, as in many Asian countries, has been pressuring the government to provide more masks to protect people from the spread of Covid-19 even though public health officials have stressed that frequent hand washing is the best method of prevention.

Fears about the virus have risen since the authorities announced the first death of a Thai national from the disease on Sunday.

A buddhist monk wearing a face mask to protect himself from a new virus at a skytrain station in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo / AP

Face masks have become hot commodities across Asia since the coronavirus began to take hold, first in China, and then across the region in January.

In Taiwan, the customs authorities said on Monday they had confiscated more than 3,000 masks from a woman who had them in checked luggage on a flight to Singapore.

Under a ban enforced on January 24, air passengers are not allowed to carry more than 250 masks in total when flying abroad. The Taiwanese government has rationed face masks to three a week per person as supplies run low.